A former Limpopo police Captain was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for murder and attempted murder.
Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the former Captain was convicted and sentenced in the Giyani Regional Court.
Dennis Paradise Nghunyulu, 59, was convicted of the murder of Osi Mkhabela, 23, and attempted murder of Mkhabela’s twenty-six year old elder brother following an incident that took place at the accused’s tavern at Makosha village in Giyani on May 18 in 2019.
Nghunyulu worked at the Modjadjiskloof police station.
"The court heard the accused was about to close his tavern in the early hours at about 01h00, when a fight ensued between him and a customer. In the process, the accused took his wife's licensed firearm, shot the customer and his brother," Col Ledwaba said.
He said the police were notified.
Osi Mkhabela was certified dead on the scene by the paramedics, while his brother survived and was transported to the local hospital for medical treatment.
"The incident caused the community to go on a rampage and the following day they barricaded roads while others went to the accused's tavern and torched it along with his vehicles," said Ledwaba.
The former Captain later handed himself in to the police and appeared in court on June 2 2019 where he was granted bail.
He was found guilty on June 2 2023 and sentenced on July 21 to ten years imprisonment for murder and three years for attempted murder.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
Colonel Ledwaba said the case was handled by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
"The provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General, Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the sentences and hopes it sends a strong message that no one is above the law," he said.
IOL